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Fllipietta black powder

Hi every one,
new at this
i just received a F.LLi Pietta 44 cal. black powder revolver today
for my birthday.
i was told it is a Navy revolver. there is a stech of a battle and inscrived engaged 14 May 1843 on the chamber.
can anyone tell where to find the powder, ball, caps and ext. and tell me a little about the gun.
thanks.
johnny

Re: Fllipietta black powder

They are reproductions of the original Colts. I'm gonna guess you got a model 1851. Pietta is on the lower end of quality, but they are still nice functioning pieces.

You can get balls, caps, and powder at just about any gunshop or sporting place like Gander.

You will want FFFg black powder and a measuring spout. If you dont have one, get a flask for the powder which has a pre-set measured spout or an adjustable spout. Blackpowder is measured by volume, not weight. If you have the brass frame, limit the charge to max of 25grs, 21-23grs usually performs the best in my brass frame. If its the steel frame, max charge of 30grs. If you use a substitute, try to use a "pistol" comparable grade. You will want to back off the load a couple grains if you do use a substitute.

Balls - look from .452-.454" balls.

caps - both CCI and Remington #10 and #11 work good. Sometimes you have to pinch the #11's on the nipples.

you can opt for an over the powder wad and/or use some sort of grease to prevent chain fires. Crisco is cheap and easy.. Just take a scoop and put it into a container, then warm it up a bit so its mushy. Use a Q-tip to apply it in front of the balls once seated. After the powder and balls are seated, and chambers are greased - then add the caps.

Like any BP gun, clean them immediately after use. They will rust up and pit overnight. Remove the wedge, and separate the barrel and cylinder from the receiver to clean them. Use a fine oil after drying. Be sure to clean up any oils before shooting again to avoid fouling the powder.

When cocking a C&B revolver, pull your finger out of the trigger guard or at least push your finger towards the front of the guard, then aim it up as you cock it. If a previously fired cap comes off it will lessen the chances of it falling into the action.

Re: Fllipietta black powder

If you can find #10 caps stick with them. One theory is that the gap caused by pinching the #11 caps is a primary cause of chain fires. Had a similar pistol chain fire on the first round with Crisco sealing the chambers. If you can find Bore Butter a little over the ball will make cleaning easier. Enjoy

Re: Fllipietta black powder

Originally Posted by knight0334

Like any BP gun, clean them immediately after use. They will rust up and pit overnight. Remove the wedge, and separate the barrel and cylinder from the receiver to clean them. Use a fine oil after drying. Be sure to clean up any oils before shooting again to avoid fouling the powder.

When cocking a C&B revolver, pull your finger out of the trigger guard or at least push your finger towards the front of the guard, then aim it up as you cock it. If a previously fired cap comes off it will lessen the chances of it falling into the action.

on the cleaning lubing side.
bore butter is a great thing. if you opt for a grease wad over the load, it works there.
for cleaning up, after it's been hosed down, "lube" it with the butter, inside and out. then the next outting there's no worrying about oil in the cylinders.
a few caps thro empty cyls would take care of the oil.

but oil and bp residue makes a horrible mess that can be a nightmare to clean up.

clean up is as simple as breaking the pistol down and rinseing it off in the sink with hot water, followed by the butter.

seeings how nobody covered this, i will.

never ever ever never ever put smokeless powder in it, not even a little ever never ever.
so never put smokeless powder in it.
they are not hardened to handle that kind of pressure.
the gun will not take it, at all.
the first cylinder fired will turn the thing into a fragmention grenade that either you or somebody else will be holding.

Re: Fllipietta black powder

That Bore Butter is good stuff if you can find it, I wont dispute that one bit. lol Unfortunately for some folks like me, its never available locally. Thus I gotta abide by my former Marine training, ...improvise, adapt, and overcome.

I concur with the never ever ever ever ever ever using smokeless powders. Using such would give an instant explanation to the term "hand grenade". I use Pyrodex Pistol and FFFg in mine. ..not sure if the Pyrodex Pistol is even made anymore, haven't seen it for years at any of the shops I go to.

Re: Fllipietta black powder

Hey Sellclay,

I'm new here myself, but I've shot BP guns in the past. Pietta, especially the newer ones, are made with soft metals, so they will shoot loose and break parts over time. (I've never had the issues, but I've read about them.)

Knight's advice is good, but you may want to lower the power charges a little when 1st shooting. For brass frames, start about 15g and about 20 for the steel. If you get an adjustable measure, you can work your way up to a good load.

Use FFFg black powder, but there's a substitute called Pyrodex and they make a pistol power. It can be exchanged 1 to 1 in volume measurement. Pyrodex is generally cleaner, but there can be problems moisture that can lead to misfires, so as they used to say 'keep your powder dry' (and the bottle capped).

Cleaning is important. I shot a Remington 1958 early one Saturday morning, and didn't get around to cleaning it until late Sunday. Rust had already started to set in, so much that you couldn't even get the cylinder to turn. It all worked out, and I still shoot the gun on occasion, but a clean oiled BP gun is a happy one.